Our Lady of Fatima - Today is the 94th anniversary of the first appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco in Portugal in 1917. The visions occurred on the 13th day of each month from May to October, and by October huge crowds were gathering at the site of the visions and reporting visions and miraculous occurrences themselves.
Today is also the 30th anniversary of the near fatal attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II was devoted to Our Lady of Fátima and attributed his survival of an assassin’s bullet on 13 May 1981 to her intervention.
The Vatican has laid a marble plaque on the cobblestone floor of St. Peter's Square at the exact spot where John Paul was shot as he traveled in his open-top 'pope-mobile' on May 13, 1981, by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca.
What is the Message of Fatima?
The public message of Fatima recalls that of Lourdes. Through the children Mary urges prayer for sinners, recitation of the Rosary, and works of penance. On October 13 she said: "I have come to exhort the faithful to change their lives, to avoid grieving Our Lord by sin; to pray the Rosary. I desire in this place a chapel in my honor. If people mend their ways, the war will soon be over."
Fatima is undoubtedly the most prophetic of modern apparitions. At Fatima, Mary revealed three "secrets" to the children. The first and second parts of the “secret” refer to the frightening vision of hell, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Second World War, and finally the prediction of the immense damage that Russia would do to humanity by abandoning the Christian faith and embracing Communist totalitarianism. The third part of the "secret" is a symbolic revelation, which can be read at the Vatican website.
In 1984, Pope John Paul II, requested that the statue in the Cova da Iria be brought to Rome. He asked all the bishops in the world to join him in entrusting the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The message of Fatima is a simple one. If we are to convert sinners and realize peace in our world, we must pray the rosary daily and do penance.
For more detailed information on Fatima, see the following sites:
The Fatima Network
The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima
Living Miracles Fatima: A Grace for Mankind
Catholic Culture's special section on Our Lady of Fatima
Sources ?;l http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2011/05/feast-of-our-lady-of-fatima.html
